Open AccessOnline Surveys as Data Collection Instruments in Education Research: A Feasible Option?
Author(s) -
Lorinda Minnaar,
Jan Heystek
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
south african journal of higher education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1753-5913
pISSN - 1011-3487
DOI - 10.20853/27-1-233
Subject(s) - data collection , context (archaeology) , scholarship , the internet , theme (computing) , exploratory research , salient , corporate governance , higher education , scale (ratio) , computer science , data science , survey data collection , public relations , sociology , political science , world wide web , business , social science , paleontology , statistics , physics , mathematics , finance , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , law , biology
Using online surveys for research purposes appears to have gained international recognition as a convenient and cost-effective data collection method. The problem is that the extant literature documenting the feasibility of this method in an education research context seems to be deficient. The question that emerges is: 'How feasible are Internet-based online surveys used as data collection instruments for educational research?' In the hope of expanding the scholarship, this article reflects critically on the successes and challenges encountered during the planning, design and activation phases of an online survey. The survey was used to collect data for a large-scale exploratory study with school governance and leadership as its overarching theme. Despite implementation of salient methodological considerations, the relatively low response rate alerts educational researchers to use online surveys as data collection instruments circumspectly.
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